Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Sugar Cookies

Happy Tuesday to you! If your weekend wasn't filled with music, food trucks, & alcohol, then you too did not attend ACL this weekend. Until this year, I've managed to find myself with a last minute free wristband to get in but this year I happily stayed in the not so packed & hectic north Austin.

The on & off rain made the whole weekend look like a Halloween movie ...which I really loved! Billy & I took the dogs to our hiking spot early Saturday & it was the perfect way to start the day. The cool weather felt great & the gloomy sky made for pretty colors while making our way through the trees.

our nice little sitting spot on a cliff

sterling bear enjoying the view

making our way...

after a good run in the water

That hike set a relaxing mood for the rest of the weekend & I was happy we were able to take advantage of all the rain-free time we had and spend it outdoors.

We had a great big lunch after & I spent the remainder of the afternoon napping with Sterling.

I also spent the majority of the weekend eating candy. A disgusting amount of candy.

But I'm hoping to work some of it off today with some kickboxing! Started last week & I really enjoy it. Hoping my arms won't hurt as bad this time.

I'm excited to go back! My good friend (the one hitting the crap out of my arm in the pic on the right) invited me to go. We had actually gone together 4 years ago, but I could not afford to commit to a contract for that gym. So even though I really enjoyed the class and the trainer, I couldn't go back. Now that same trainer, Randy Vera, is opening his own place. Until the new facility is up & running, he is offering free classes on Tuesday nights (6-7) at Festival Beach in Austin. If you live near there, you should check it out!! Great workout & not at all intimidating. The trainer makes it easy to catch on if its your first time out. Check out their facebook page if you're interested...Austin Kickboxing Academy.

Enough health talk...it's cookie time.

I know sugar cookies are nothing too exciting. Don't get me wrong... they are delicious! But you can find the same basic sugar cookie recipe anywhere. When I make roll-out sugar cookies for decorating, I've always experimented with ingredient amounts in search of the perfect dough. A nice strong dough that won't lose its shape & bakes nicely. Sunday night I felt like making some sugar cookies and using every bright food color I own. In the spirit of Halloween, I made dia de los muertos {day of the dead} cookies.

hehe. I didn't include too many pics...because they did not look great. I should try this again with a better plan & maybe not so late at night! But they were so good & I think I finally have my perfect sugar cookie recipe. I'll revisit this again with quality pictures, but I wanted this recipe to be in my archives & to share with you!

Next step...veganizing it.

I wish I had better pictures of Billy's decorated cookies. I could not get him to go easy on the pressure when using the icing bags... his lines were thicker than the cookie itself! ha!

Sugar Cookies

ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the flour, baking powder, & salt together and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice, & zest if using. Mix in the dry mixture about 1/2 cup at a time.

Cover the dough & chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out the dough on a floured surface or between two wax sheets. Cut out desired cookie shape and place on a cookie sheet about 1" apart. Bake 8-12 minutes.

I made a little over a dozen 5 inch long cookies, about 1/4 inch thick.